Singaraja- White skin, straight stature, and long hair. That’s a glimpse of the figure that depicts Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi. Student of the Department of Sports Education, Health and Recreation Physical Education Study Program, Faculty of Sports and Health, Ganesha University of Education (Undiksha). This student who was born in 2001 received a sweet gift in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. She was selected as an athlete at the Tokyo Pre-Olympic National Training Center for rock climbing. “For me, this is fortunate because I can join the Pelatnas Team, henceforth I am still waiting for information about when I will begin centralization in Jakarta, while waiting for that I will be asked to take a swab test in each region,” she said when confirmed, Saturday (13/6/2020).
Another thing to be proud of is that she is the only athlete to represent Bali. Her achievement cannot be separated from the achievements she has made in various competitions. She has always won medals at the Student Sports and Arts Week (Porsenijar) which she tested from 2011 to 2019. At the Porprov Bali event which was held in Tabanan Regency, she won first place, the Age Group National Championship won I, II, and III, the General National Championship won III place and the 2018 Asian Youth ranked IV.
She also did not hesitate to share stories about her journey to fall in love with this very challenging sport. She was introduced by her aunt when she was still in grade II of elementary school. “At that time it happened that my aunt was a rock climbing athlete,” she said. According to her, this sport is very exciting and fosters enthusiasm in facing challenges. Also from this, she got many new friends. “This is what attracted me,” she said.
Her desire to be able to appear at the Tokyo Olympics which is planned to take place in 2021 is very big. In line with that, practice continues to be maximized. The Covid-19 pandemic is not an obstacle for her. “Because I was hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic, I did independent exercises at home using makeshift tools,” added this semester II student from Sambangan Village, Sukasada District, Buleleng. (hms)
